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September 28th, 2016 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Before the opening credits, nXt General Manager William Regal introduces the 2nd annual nXt Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The finals will take place at nXt Takeover: Toronto and the pairings and first round brackets will be revealed on social media later this week. First round starts next Wednesday! Opening Segment Singles Match: “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger vs. Angelo Dawkins Angelo stirs the pot to begin the match. Dillinger isn’t too sure what that’s about so he snapmares him to the mat, does a cartwheel and gets the “10” chant started. Then, HE stirs the pot! Dawkins charges and delivers a right hand to Dillinger, knocking him to his knees. He keeps the pressure up in the corner but Dillinger retorts with chops of his own. Whip into the corner. Dawkins reverses, charges, misses. Dillinger lays into him with more punches and chops. Off the ropes, flying forearm. Dawkins is reeling. Off the ropes, inverted atomic drop! Left hand clothesline. Dawkins crawls into the corner and Dillinger lets loose with stomps. Side Russian leg sweep and the punishment is going to ramp up as Dillinger exposes the knee. He lifts Dawkins up over the shoulders and delivers the TYE-BREAKER! 1-2-3. Winner: “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger via pinfall in 4 minutes Post-match, the crowd chants “10” as Dillinger holds up the “10” sign. Lots of support for Dillinger. Suddenly, Bobby Roode’s music hits and here comes the Glorious one. He has a mic and he tells Dillinger that was impressive…but not quite a perfect 10. With the proper guidance, maybe. Roode’s #1 reason to be in nXt was to compete and win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The crowd starts cheering and chanting “Glorious 10”. Roode hasn’t made many friends but to be in the tournament, he needs a partner. He needs the perfect partner. Roode appeals to Dillinger to consider his offer, asking him to envision them as champions. That’s not just perfect; it’s perfectly glorious! They shake hands and that cues the “Glorious” theme again. Big moment. One cool point for Dillinger’s win and two cool points for the post-match promo by Roode, which really got the hype machine going for the first tag team pairing of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Dillinger’s 3/3 in opening matches over the past few months and that’s no mistake. He’s way over with the audience and he wrestles with strength and precision. Roode’s mic work to draw in the crowd towards favouring him and Dillinger tagging up was stellar. He won over the crowd immediately, a crowd who really wants to cheer him, despite being a heel. Coming Up: Liv Morgan vs. Asuka and Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose WWE has launched a new promotional campaign for Connor’s Cure, an organization they started to raise money for pediatric cancer. It’s in honour of the famous Connor who touched the hearts of many fans during Daniel Bryan’s run to Wrestlemania XXX. To support them, go to www.ConnorTheCrusher.org. Get the gear, give the gear! Second Segment Backstage, Hideo Itami is interviewed about his match tonight with Lince Durado. Itami says Durado has heart, unlike Austin Aries. Aries isn’t the man; he’s a baby…a coward…who needs to be put to sleep. Tag Team Match: The Ealy Brothers vs. The Revival (c) As The Revival are walking down to the ring, Samoa Joe rushes right by them and attacks both Ealy Brothers with punches and sentons. Dash & Dawson simply clap for him, zip up their jackets and head back up the ramp. Joe gets a mic and calls out Regal. He says these are the first 2 victims of Regal’s inability to make a decision. He warned him and the beatings will continue until his decisiveness improves. Bring him Nakamura or hand him the nXt championship is the ultimatum he gives. Then, he runs one of the Ealys into the ring steps. No Match One cool point for Samoa Joe’s disruption of what could’ve been a pretty interesting match. He is some angry and he shows no signs of calming down until Regal responds. You gotta figure he’ll get his rematch…just a matter of what stipulation there might be. Third Segment Promo: We get a first look at nXt’s newest signee, Dan Matha, who will arrive on nXt TV next week. He’s huge. Singles Match: Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose On the lockup, Rose tries to whip Moon off the ropes. She does. Moon leaps over her and gets knocked down hard with a right hand. Rose can’t follow it up though and Moon hits her with a spinning kick. Fallaway slam. She’s charging up. Springboard crossbody off the second rope. 1-2- kickout by Rose. Moon yanks Rose away from the ropes and gets kicked in the side of the face for it. Rose with a bicycle knee to Moon’s chin. 2 count. She locks Moon in a chinlock, bending her down over her right thigh. Rose knocks Moon down for a 2 count. She stops to taunt and Moon seizes the moment to roll her up for a 2 count. Off the ropes, she goes for a head scissors but Rose stops her and slams her face first into the mat. Rolls her over for a 2 count. Great counter by Rose. Moon throws Rose’s head into the turnbuckle, from the mat, with her legs. Wow. Up on the top rope, she connects with the ECLIPSE! Vicious top rope finisher where she does a 360 twist while grabbing Rose’s head and giving her a neckbreaker/stunner. Winner: Ember Moon via pinfall in 4 minutes One cool point for Ember Moon who is undefeated on nXt TV. Moon’s going to be a great challenge to Asuka but I think she’d benefit from a few more matches like this where the fans can get to know her and her abilities/moveset better. One cool point for Mandy Rose because she made the most of her moments, hitting hard and delivering some nasty attitude towards Moon. Too bad it was the latter which cost her the match. Stay focussed on getting the win, not bragging about knocking your opponent down! Backstage, Gargano & Ciampa are asked about getting their revenge on The Revival at the Cruiserweight Classic. They admit that it felt good but something’s missing. They have a checklist of unfinished business. They entered the roster one year ago by means of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. So they want to win it this year, and beat The Revival, and win the nXt Tag Team Championships. Three big checks to make on that list. In another part of the backstage area, Asuka is warming up for her match against Liv Morgan. Up Next: The Authors Of Pain will be in action. Fourth Segment Tag Team Match: The Authors Of Pain w. Paul Ellering vs. Jesus Yurnet & Jonathan Cruz Akam charges Yurnet right off the bell, which knocks him down and Cruz off of the apron. He tags in Rezar and the two deliver a double gutbuster. Rezar muscles Cruz in over the top rope and delivers a heavy blow to his black, knocking him to the mat. Rezar picks up Cruz above his head for a few moments and chucks him to the outside. He tags in Akam for their usual double team finisher and this match is over. Paul Ellering enters the ring to pose with his team like it’s his job…which it is. He finally has a microphone! Winners: The Authors of Pain via pinfall in 2 minutes One cool point for Hall of Famer Paul Ellering who finally breaks his silence to share some ominous phrases on what the Authors of Pain have done and will do next. Backstage, GM Regal is asked about Nakamura’s condition. Regal says he’s a difficult man to get a hold of so he has no update. He’s asked about the Tag Team Classic when Blake & Murphy walk in, saying they need a spot…but they end up arguing with one another. Regal says sort out your issues and leave. They leave, still arguing. Non-Title Singles Match: Asuka (c) vs. Liv Morgan The match begins with the two women circling one another amidst an “Asuka’s gonna kill you!” chant directed at Morgan. Dropkick by Morgan doesn’t phase Asuka in the least. Morgan punches her but Asuka punches back, dropping her to the mat. She wrenches in a hyper-extension of Morgan’s left arm, behind her back, forcing Morgan to tap. That…was quick! Winner: Asuka via submission in 1 minute Post-match, Asuka is interviewed in the ring. She says no one is ready for her. She’s not wrong, folks. One cool point for what might be a new record by Asuka for quickest win on nXt TV? Can someone confirm that? Up Next: Hideo Itami vs. Lince Durado Final Segment Next Week: Andrade “Cien” Almas & Cedric Alexander vs. The Revival for the first round of the Dusty Classic. Singles Match: Hideo Itami vs. Lince Durado The two shake hands to begin. From the initial tie-up, the two counter behind the back wristlocks. Durado throws Itami to the mat once over his shoulder, then connects with a hurricanrana. He misses an attack to the corner but bounces off the turnbuckle to land on his feet! Durado tries to leap over Itami off of the ropes but Itami stops, waits, and hits him to the mat. Durado evades a kick to the head, gets back to his feet and the two pause to reset. Itami kicks Durado in the right thigh a few times, aiming for a Charley Horse perhaps. Durado nails Itami with a spinning kick to the jaw. Itami flips Durado over the ropes to the apron. Durado kicks Itami in the back of the neck. He leaps up on the top rope, jumps and Itami stops him with a knee to the face. This brings Durado to a seated position in the centre of the ring. Itami connects with a running soccer kick. Knee drop to the masked face of Durado. He lowers the kneepad, hops over him and brushes Durado’s face with the sole of his boot. Durado with a leaping dropkick to Itami’s jaw while he’s on the top rope. Itami gets sent to the outside. Durado runs and connects with double feet on Itami between the ropes. High-risk moves coming up…he leaps on to the second rope and hits the springboard moonsault to the outside on Itami! That brings us to a… Commercial Break On the return, Durado has an arm submission applied to Itami, who is lying face down on the mat. Durado breaks it on his own to attack Itami, which allows Itami to fight back. Durado stops him with a spinning heel kick to the head. 1-2- kickout by Itami. In the corner, a loud chop to the chest by Durado. He runs, across the ring, and gets a boot to the face by Itami. Itami climbs to the top turnbuckle and tries for a hurricanrana or body scissors but Durado throws him, standing, on to the apron. Quickly, this leads to a top rope clothesline by Itami on Durado. He starts laying in with the kicks and knees and a flurry of strikes to Durado’s chest, knocking him down to the corner. Durado rolls away, evading a charge. He rolls up Itami for a 2.5 count. Knee to the chin. Off the ropes, springboard handstand right on to Itami’s shoulders for a GTS. Durado evades it. Durado flips over Itami, bringing him down into a rollup pin for a 2 count. Itami counters with a pinfall attempt of his own. The match continues. Durado, up on the top turnbuckle, goes for the shooting star press…Itami moves! Running boot to the face sends Durado into the corner. Another kick from Itami. A running dropkick. The crowd chants for the GTS! Itami does not disappoint, nailing Durado with the knee. 1-2-3. Winner: Hideo Itami via pinfall in 10 minutes Post-match, Itami boasts to the crowd about his win, which allows Austin Aries to attack him from behind. Aries poses for the crowd before grabbing Itami, whipping him off the ropes…Itami counters and Aries escapes through the ropes. Once again, it’s another unsettled encounter between the two wrestlers. Their feud is just heating up. One cool point for Itami who continues to build up momentum since his return from injury. There was one clumsy moment where I thought he and Durado were going to get quite hurt but they each managed to escape unscathed. It’d be a shame to see him get hurt with his star on the rise again. Aries, playing the cowardly heel, is a good match for him and they are successfully building anticipation for their eventual in-ring confrontation. One cool point for Durado’s high-flying skills. His shooting star press, though ineffective, was a thing of beauty to watch. Would it be more beautiful if he had landed on Itami? Hopefully we’ll get to him connect with it in the near future. Looking forward to your cool point suggestions and comments on tonight’s episode. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic starts next week! Last year’s edition provided us with some great tag matches. I’m quite excited, and you should be, too. Peace!
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